夕阳无限好 Leaving Work to Watch the Sunset · 主播罗斌 NO.161

关注微信公众号：为你读英语美文，获得更完整的原文，音乐资料

主播：罗斌
地点：广东 河源

Leaving Work to Watch the Sunset
夕阳无限好
作者：译名

I believe in leaving work at five o &`& clock.

我的信念是在五点结束每天的工作。

In a nation that operates on a staunch Protestant work ethic, this belief could be considered radical. Working only 40 hours a week? I just do not know many people who punch out at five o &`& clock anymore. It seems downright quaint, like pocket watches and shoe-shines.

这个奉行新教徒那套工作至上理念的国度,我的这一信念可算是激进。每周只工作40小时?我认识的人中很少是下午五点打卡下班的。那看起来就跟怀表、鞋油这类东西一样,简直是过时而怪异。

My father tried to teach me the importance of hard work, long hours and dedication to a career. But then there are the things he taught me unintentionally, like when he arrived home from work for the last time and crawled up the stairs.

我父亲尽力教导我勤奋工作、超时工作以及献身事业这几点的重要性。但后来,他也无意中教了我一些东西,比如那次当他最后一次下班回家爬上楼梯的时候。

My father, a self-employed sales trainer, was that sick, that tired. His body was wracked with liver cancer, and he suffered the effects of a diabetic ulcer. Still, he insisted on traveling to honor his commitment to give a seminar. He probably earned a lot of money that day, and he paid the price: He returned to the hospital soon after and was dead within three months, at age 58.

我父亲是一名自雇的销售培训师。那天,他已经病得很厉害,疲惫不堪。肝癌拖垮了他的身体,他还饱受糖尿病溃疡的折磨。然而,他为履行承诺仍坚持到外地主持一个研讨会。他那天可能赚了不少钱,但他也付出了代价——不久之后又住进了医院,而且三个月后就去世了,终年58岁。

It is been 10 years since I saw my father come home that night, and since then, I have thought a lot about work. I have decided something: I will never crawl up the stairs. As much as I love my job as a newspaper reporter, I will never work myself into the ground, literally or figuratively.

那晚看到父亲回家已是十年前的事了,自那以后,我对工作作了多番思考。我决定:我决不要爬着楼梯回家。作为一名报社记者,尽管我非常热爱我的工作,但我决不会因为拼命工作而把自己送进坟墓里,无论是字面义还是比喻义。

The idea of leaving work at work did not come easily to me. After all, I am my father &`& s daughter. In college, I was not going to keg parties in a frat basement; I was the girl who lingered on the library steps each morning, waiting for the doors to open. I even dreamed about schoolwork.

只在工作时间内工作的想法于我并非易事,毕竟,有其父必有其女。读大学时,我不去大学生联谊会在地下室里举办的啤酒狂欢派对,而是每天一早就在图书馆的阶梯上徘徊,等着图书馆开门。我甚至做梦都会梦到功课作业。

My dad once told me he was unable to just gaze at a sunset; he had to be doing something as he looked at it — writing, reading, playing chess. You could say he was a success: He was a published author, an accomplished musician, fluent in German and American Sign Language. That is an impressive list, but here is the thing: I want to gaze at sunsets. I do not want to meet a deadline during them or be writing a column at the same time, or glance at them over the top of a book.

我父亲曾经告诉我,他就是没法凝视夕阳。看着夕阳的同时他还得做些别的事——写作、阅读、下象棋。你可以称他是成功人士:他是一名发表过作品的作家,一位有造诣的音乐家,能说流利的德语,能熟练运用美国手语。这一连串成就看起来挺厉害的。但问题是:我想凝视夕阳。我不想边看夕阳边赶在最后期限前完成工作,也不想边看边给专栏赶稿,又或者是看着书,偶尔才朝那一抹夕阳瞥上一眼。

This raises the question: If I leave work at five o &`& clock to watch the sunset, what are the consequences? Do I risk not reaching the top of my profession? Maybe, because honestly, knocking off after eight hours probably won &`& t earn me the corner office or the lucrative promotion.

这引发了一个问题:如果我五点就下班去看夕阳,会有什么后果?我是否就无法爬到职场最高位?也许是,因为说实话,工作八小时就下班,想搬进角落的高层办公室或升职加薪是不太可能的。

But hey, leaving work at five o &`& clock means I eat dinner with my family. I get to hop on my bike and pedal through the streets of my hometown as the shadows lengthen and the traffic thins.

不过,嘿,五点就下班意味着我能和家人共进晚餐。我跳上单车,穿梭在家乡的大小街道上,一切在夕阳的余晖中被拉长了影子,路上车少人稀。

And I get to take in a lot of sunsets. That is got to be worth something.

从此,我看了不少夕阳美景。这肯定有其价值所在。

垫乐
Falcom Sound Team jdk - 阳だまりにて和む猫
Michael Hoppé - Coming Home
光宗信吉 - グッド・フォー・ユー

主播介绍
罗斌，出生在广东河源的客家小伙子，现就读于广东海洋大学能源与动力工程专业，现在大三了

主播：罗斌 , 制作 | 编辑: 永清
文字及垫乐归作者或版权方所有
图片源于网络

微信公众号：为你读英语美文
官方新浪微博：@为你读英语美文